Easier said than done
by ElfinPrincess19
Summary: AU. Drama will surly ensue if word got out Stephanie’s secret biological daughter turned up in Trenton unannounced. Trying to keep a secret from the burg is harder than you think, especially a teenage one. Rating for later chapters just incase.
1. The start of it all

-1Disclaimer: I own nothing but my story plot and some AU people. BTW This is going to AU. BIG TIME

Background story.

Alright, when Stephanie was in the beginning of her junior year of high school she met a guy who was training to become a Detective and got pregnant. In order to cover up the scandal, she was sent off to Seattle, Washington on a 'exchange program' called Education across America, where Michael lived in order to have the child. Her father being the only one who knew, protected her secret on the condition that she come back home after the child was old enough and finish off her senior year and go to college. Young, and unable to support the child, Stephanie agreed and she came back when the baby was 3 months to make it for her senior year, where Michael took full custody with no ill feelings toward Stephanie.

They agreed that she would come visit her baby girl, Allison Michelle Plum Reed, when ever she could get away from the burg for a weekend. For a while Stephanie would visit her baby and Michael but he soon got married and asked Stephanie to give up parental rights so his wife could adopt Allison so she could have a normal life. Wanting what was best for her child, Stephanie agreed on the condition that if Allison wanted to meet her when she got older, they would allow it, and to have her understand that Stephanie was her biological mother. When Allison was 11 she contacted Stephanie and they started talking on weekends and soon a few times a week. After that, Stephanie made sure she could visit her daughter every few months. They have kept contact threw out the years.

Allison is now 18.

Chapter 1:

On many occasions, in order to introduce myself, I have given multiple anecdotes of my memories when I was younger. You know ones like about that time I decided I wanted to be Wonder Woman and I nicked my grandmother's 4th of July table cloth to make myself a pair of underpants and stuffed my mothers stolen bra full of rolled up socks or the time I believed that if I concentrated hard enough, climbed the house high enough, and jumped far enough that I could indeed fly.

My few dismal attempts at cooking have been the source of amusement for many people, excluding my Mother, who is the typical burg housewife. I believe I am her biggest disappointment. I mean, how could one not notice the difference between sugar and salt? Often the neighbors can hear her ask god the infamous question of '_Why me?_' and if they listen hard enough I'm sure they could hear her take a few licks from the liquor bottle that she keeps hidden in the kitchen cabinets. _Like we don't know. _I have even been known to sneak a finger or two when times get unbearable at Sunday night dinners.

My relationship status is, well, some could call it moderately complex. Or as I like to call it, unconstrained and amorphous. Alright, so I'm just undecided. I have a 'thing', if you wish to call it that, going on with Joe Morelli, a game of sorts, called on-and-off again. Here's how it's played. He and I date, the occasional pizza, beer and hot-sweaty-wild gorilla sex, and then some psychotic crazy person comes along and threatens my life or my car and even sporadically my apartment. Joe will then start in about how I should quit my job and just work someplace where I don't get stalked and kidnapped. Even marriage is tossed as an alternative to me working at the Bonds Office. _Real romantic_ let me tell you. To be given a marriage proposal in the middle of a fight. I will then tell him some very unlady like thoughts and where he can shove them, then we decide to take a break from our relationship and hope our problems will disappear and when we go back into the 'On' stage they will miraculously be solved. Never works that way, but it's our game, not as fun as Choo Choo, but it makes do.

Another nick in my relationship status is due to my Bounty Hunter mentor, and my one time lover, Ranger. Lula, Connie and I refer to him as The Wizard but mostly Batman because he is like smoke and always seems to have anything and everything you can ever think of possibly needing in his utility belt.

Alright, so I'm not sure if Ranger even owns a utility belt but I do know for a fact that if he had one, it would be impressive. He also has what seems like an unlimited supply of black Bat Mobiles and he has even hinted at owning a Bat Cave. Well, technically he evades the question and I assume that he owns a Bat Cave but he usually just gives a twitch of a smile and says 'Babe' as if it answers my question.

My name is Stephanie Plum, and if you haven't guess already, I'm a Bonds Enforcement Agent, a.k.a. a Bounty Hunter. Let me inform you right off the bat, I am not very good at what I do. I generally always get my guy, but on the way to getting said guy I get shot at, hit, spit on, thrown into garbage, and even been chased by evil rabbits. I'm not joking. Today just happens to be one of those days.

I rounded the corner on Hinsdale Lane after chasing my skip nearly 3 blocks in a complete circle. Lula happened to have waited for Kyle Childers at his house because she _unfortunately_ decided to wear her new 3 inch spike heals. Which she had yelled as I took off after the skip when he bolted after we knocked on his door. I would have to remember roll my eyes when I got a chance since I watched Lula pull her glock from her large purse. "Lula! Lula! NO shooting!" I yelled sprinting faster to catch Kyle. If she had taken a shot, the chances of her even hitting her target was slim to none and since I was directly in line of shot I was not taking my chances with wearing a bullet. I hit Kyle forcibly making him hit the pavement.

He struggled and he didn't have much weight on me but he did succeed in elbowing me in the jaw. I bit back my groan and managed to lock one of the cuffs on his wrist when he tried a flipping maneuver and was then straddling my stomach.

"I gots you, girl." Lula said, all of her spandex clad self rushing towards us. Kyle's eyes widened in horror as he tried scrambling off of me to run, efficiently knocking the wind out of me and managing to elbow me in the ribs. _Damn this asshole._

I grew tired of being elbowed and drew all of my strength to flip the kid over while hooking his arm behind his back and cuffing his wrists together. My knee slipped between his legs forcefully. "Opps." I said in a unsteadied breath, "Accident, I promise." Jeeze, did I learn from Tank and the merry men or what?

"You go, white girl." Lula said her gun still in hand.

"Could you please put that away? We don't need a cop driving by and pulling over because you are waving that thing around like a friggin' flag." I said struggling to my feet while pulling Kyle's boney-ass up along with me.

"No problem, girl. All ya needed to do was ask." She stuffed the glock into her bag and hiked it high on her shoulder, "While you take this Yahoo to the police station, mind dropping me off at the office?"

I shrugged and pulled Kyle to my new 2 door Honda Civic Hybrid and shoved him into the back seat. "Lock his front door will you?" I nodded to the house. "Where's the keys?" I asked directing the question towards him.

Kyle pursed his lips with no intention was speaking. I pulled out my stun gun and positioned it above his crotch, "I'm not Miss Mary Sunshine today." I warned

He quickly shrunk into the seat and muttered, "On the kitchen counter. My mom will be home soon so it doesn't matter."

Lula went into the house anyway and when she emerged she locked the door and slid into the passenger seat. "Nasty, that's what you are." Lula shook her head and popped a piece of gum into her mouth, "Little pervert like you should be locked away. Living with his momma and doing that under her roof." She curled her lip in disgust.

I rolled my eyes not wanting to point out that she use to be a hooker and did some nasty things herself. But then again, Lula had her own place and didn't turn tricks in her mother house.

"She told me she was 18." Kyle glowered, "How was I suppose to know?"

"What more do you need then that she looks like she's 11, didn't have ID and for some unknown reason carried textbooks for 8th grade English?" Lula asked turning in her seat to glare at him, "Anyway, you 28 years old, you don't be needing to be cradle robbin' an 18 year old anyhow."

"Let alone a 14 year old." I finished pulling into the Bonds Office parking lot next to Lula's Firebird.

"See you, white girl." Lula opened the door and nodded to me and then gave Kyle one last glance, "Ya nasty." Lula said with distaste and then departing from the car. She shut the car door and made her way to the office doors, her spandex just short of the law.

"I swear I thought she was 18." He protested as I drove to the police station and dragged his ass out of my car. "She looked older with all the makeup and clothes."

"You video taped you two having sex and then you sold it to your sick perverted friends." I said pushing him roughly into the station and shoved him into a seat. "In your mothers house no less, I'm not even going to bother with advising you to not drop the soap."

I got my body receipt and left the precinct. Nasty was one word for this guy, thank goodness it was Friday and Vinnie happened to be out of the country and couldn't bond Kyle out again. Connie already told me that she advised against bonding Kyle out in the first place, he had a habit of skipping town. There was no way that she was going to be bonding him out anytime soon. Which suited me just fine.

By the time I handed my body receipt to Connie I was ready to fall into bed. I had made it home on autopilot which wasn't all that safe and managed to locate my door key without much trouble. But then again, everybody gets in without a key, so I don't know why I even bother with locking the door anymore.

I eyed the hall way to my bedroom wearily and flipped on the kitchen light which illuminated the hall and some of the living room. No dead guys on my couch tonight, no mutilated body parts in my sink, which was nice, and no bloody foot prints to my bedroom. Seemed good to me. I dropped my bag onto the counter and pulled a beer from the fridge only to notice the blinking red light on my answering machine in my line of view.

I grabbed some grapes to drop in Rex's cage and pressed play.

"Hey, cupcake." Joe's voice barely registered to me as I took a swing from my bottle. "I order some pizza and the games on at 8, Bob misses you." I shook my head, he needed some new lines, but I smiled none the less. I quickly deleted the message and headed toward the bathroom. As good as pizza, more beer, the game, Bob, and Morelli sounded, sleep won by a land slide, just second of a hot shower. Too bad it wasn't how it would turn out.

The phone rang loudly and I ignored it making sure to throw every piece of clothing on the ground on the way.

My cell phone rang next and I cursed. It could be a few people, and if I had to guess, it would be Ranger wondering why the hell I didn't answer my home phone because he probably had a man on post to tell him when I got home. Well, maybe he wouldn't have a guy on post because nobody would risk their lives like that. Also, he had been away on 'Business' for the last 3 weeks. But then again, Ranger was Ranger and anything was possible.

Sighing I walked back too my counter and plucked my phone out of my purse and pressed the green talk button.

"Hello?" I answered, the read out blank, which was a good chance of it being Ranger. Secret number and all.

Static was what I heard and then a strangled, "Mom? Mom, you there? It's Ally! Can you Hear me!?"

"Allison?" I ask incredibly, defiantly not The Wizard.

"Oh thank god! I've been trying to call you for an hour!" Allison sounded relived and I heard her flop down onto something hard, "God." And to my utter dismay she started to cry.

"Alls, Ally baby, what's happened, what's wrong?" I demanded shrilly. God, I sound like my mother.

"Y-you promised, remember? When I turn," She hiccupped, "Turned 18 I could choose who I wanted to live with, and," She tried to control her breathing with little result, "I'm moving in."

"Did you talk to your father-"

"You PROMISED!" And the tears came in full swing with sobbing to boot.

"Put your father on, I'll make arrangements-"

"I'm not at Daddy's." She said in whisper.

"Where are you?" I asked slowly.

"The airport." She said defiantly

"Do not get on an airplane." I commanded, "You can't just jump on a plane and leave your home to a place where you've never been before."

"Too late. I'm at the Newark airport." Her sobs all but gone but her voice was steady.

"What! God! What are you thinking! What would you have done if something happened to you? What about your father? Does he even know you've hightailed it out of Seattle?" I took a deep breath trying to control my temper.

"I hate Daddy and I owe him no explanation. He-" She sighed, "Mom… Just please, can you pick me up, we've been grounded for an hour and I-I don't like it here." She sounded resigned now.

I sighed, and calmly said, "Alright baby, I'm on my way. Don't leave the airport, go to the food court. I'll be there as fast as I can drive."

"Okay." I was about to hang up when Allison whispered, "Mom?"

"Yeah?" I asked quickly already shoving my legs into my pants.

"I'm sorry… I love you." With that she hung up the phone.

I wanted to scream, cry, and kick something. But I settled for a half-ass job of putting on my clothes before rushing from my apartment with my cell phone and car keys.

!#$&()

Mmk. That is chapter 1. How do you like it? If I don't know if I will continue if nobody reads. More reviews I get the faster I update. So yeah, Thanks for reading!


	2. Before the storm, there is silence

-1Chapter 2:

The airport was crowded and it took me nearly a quarter of an hour to locate Allison. She sat in the corner of the food court, her bags cluttered haphazardly around her feet, a large pink animal carrier rested on a table.

When Allison spotted me rushing towards her, she sprang from her seat and collided into me in a bone crushing hug. "Oh I thought I'd never see you!" Allison said sobbingly into my shoulder.

"Well, you didn't pick the nearest airport." I said hugging my daughter with just as much force, relieved to know she was safe.

"They didn't have any flights directly to Trenton. I would have had to switch planes at least 3 times it would have taken so much longer to get here." Allison said pulling back slightly. "I tried calling you before my flight, and then I called right after but you didn't answer."

"You shouldn't be here, Allison." I told her sternly. "You should have talked this over with your father and mother. And me. Especially me."

Tears welled up in Allison's eyes. "Don't you want me here?"

"Don't try that reverse psychology crap on me. You know that I would love for you to live with me."

"I couldn't wait another minute living with Daddy and _her_."

"Your dad loves her and she's your mom," I said smoothing her hair away from her face.

With that she hugged me again.

"Rebecca raised you, Allison." I said shaking my head. "You can't choose your parents. Trust me on that."

"I only need one mom. Like you said, you can't choose who your parents are. God chose you for my mom. It just happened he didn't chose Dad for your sole mate. He chose a bitch for my step-mom and dad's sole mate."

"Still, she raised you. She's your mother in every sense of the word. You're a teenager, your supposed to hate your mom."

"I don't hate you." She protested.

"Ally, I haven't been your Mom-"

"So you'll start now. _We'll_ start now, I mean."

"I have to call your father." I said slowly, wondering how this all happened.

"So I can stay?" Allison asked, her blue eyes widening in hope.

"As long as you like. Your off to College soon anyway." I sighed, "My place isn't big enough for both of us. It's barely big enough for me."

"So we'll get a bigger one." Allison let of me and rushed towards her things.

If only things were that simple, I thought to myself. Sure I had been able to save up a small nest egg, but it wasn't much. It could probably get us a two bedroom apartment, but the monthly payments could be a stretch, especially when skips stop skipping for weeks at a time.

"Whoa. What's in that?" I asked pointing towards the pink carrier.

"Maggie." Allison said lifting the carrier to eye level where I could clearly see furry black face of a puppy.

"My apartment doesn't allow pets." Technically. Rex didn't count.

"We'll have to get a place that does. Please. Don't make me give her up." Two pair of puppy-eyes stared at me.

I scowled, "Fine." I shook my head, I hated how I could cave so easily with her. "Give me something to carry."

"You can carry Maggie." She thrust the dog at me. "You can roll one of my suitcases too."

"Fan-freakin-tastic."

-)

"You weren't kidding." Were the first words out of Allison's mouth when we entered my apartment. She dropped her duffle bag in the living room and looked around. "This looks like my best friends apartment." She gave me a meaningful glance, "And she's in college."

I rolled my eyes. I would be buying new furniture if I hadn't had this unexpected surprise along with a relocation requirement.

Allison shot me a grin, "This is going to be great." She put Maggie's carrier down and let her out.

I couldn't keep the smile from my lips when I watched her. "The couch is yours until we can work something out." I said gesturing towards it.

"Cool." She checked it out, the looked at me again, "Where's the shower? I smell like an ash tray."

I pointed towards the bedroom. "That way. Save some hot water for me though."

"Mm'kay." She re-hitched her duffle bag and walked down the small hallway.

I sighed, pulling out my cell phone, I dialed the memorized number of Michael's cell.

A frantic Michael answered the phone with a, "Allison?"

"Michael, it's me, Stephanie."

"Oh, God, Steph, Allison's missing-"

"Allison's here, in Trenton. She took a flight out here."

A beat of silence was heard on the other end of the phone, "She's safe?"

"Taking a shower as we speak." I pulled up a seat at my kitchen table and sat.

More silence filled the phone and then a whisper in the back ground gave away that he wasn't alone. "She's pretty upset, Michael." I said absently tracing a pattern lightly on the wooden table.

"That's between her and her mother." He curtly said

"Obviously between all three of you since she fled the state, Michael." I said calmly, although I felt anything but. What was I? I didn't even get a call telling me she was missing. When Ranger's kid got snatched he was informed almost immediately.

"I'm booking a flight as we speak, I'm coming to get her."

"I don't think that's such a good idea. I think she should have a choice in this." I said decisively.

"She's being emotional and irrational. She's a child." Michael said tersely.

"A legal adult actually. She's 18. You have no legal right to drag her back to Washington." I pointed out, "Do you think coming here and trying to control her is the best thing right now?"

"I really don't care, Steph. She's my daughter."

"If you've forgotten, she's mine too." I said softly.

Once more silence filled the line. "Her home is here."

I glanced around the kitchen, "Yeah well, maybe her home could be here too, with me. It's her choice, I'm her mom."

"Rebecca is her mother."

"So am I. We agreed on this before I signed those papers, Michael. This is her decision, this is out of both of our hands."

"No. You're with her, you can fill her head with pipe dreams and convince her to stay with you while I'm across the country unable to do anything." Michael snapped

"You know what Michael? I called to let you know she was safe, which is more than I can say what you would have done since you didn't even bother to let me know she was missing in the first place. So how about this, life's a bitch, get use to it." With that I disconnected.

Silence filled the room, I could distinctly hear the shower going and Allison's voice singing off-key to a song I've never heard.

What had I gotten myself into? I don't know anything about raising a child let alone a teenager. I barley could take care of myself and Rex.

I glanced towards the bedroom. I would have to start looking for an apartment, one that allowed animals. I would have to face the fact I was going to have to come clean to my family… and friends about my past.

I felt my eyes widen and my breathing increasing. I couldn't do this. I didn't want to do this. I liked my apartment. I liked being able to come and go as I pleased. I liked that I wasn't responsible for anybody but me. Now, I would have to worry if Allison had eaten dinner, what she was doing while I was at work, make sure she wasn't getting in trouble.

I let my head drop on the table. I really wasn't ready for this.

Talk about life being a bitch.

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Review, tell me what you think. Sorry it took me so long. Life gets busy sometimes.


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